Trump accused of market manipulation to benefit insiders, Democrats want answers

Donald Trump is being accused of market manipulation and there are calls for him to be investigated.

What happened

Shortly after U.S. markets opened on Wednesday morning, Apr. 9, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social at 9:30am: “BE COOL! Everything is going to work out well. The USA will be bigger and better than ever before!”

He followed that up at 9:34am: “THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT”.

Less than four hours later, he announced a 90-day pause on additional trade tariffs on most countries except China, sending the markets soaring.

The S&P 500 went up by more than 9 per cent, while the tech-focused Nasdaq shot up by more than 12 per cent.

The "DJT" in Trump's post are the letters of the Trump Media & Technology Group ticker.

The DJT business controls Truth Social.

Trump did not have the habit of signing off his post with his initials.

Shares of DJT shot up by 22 per cent in response to the president's tariff-pausing announcement.

He claimed the announcement was written without running it past his legal team.

On social media, users referred to this chain of events as "Trump Pump".

On the same day he made the announcement, Trump publicly boasted about how much money his friends Charles Schwab, a financial investor and Roger Penske, Nascar team owner, had made when markets bounced.

"He made US$2.5 million today, and he made US$900 million! That's not bad," Trump said.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is on Trump's team, gained S$36 billion (S$47.8 billion).

Market manipulation accusations

Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that Trump was seeking to manipulate markets or that he or his associates had acted on inside information.

But Democratic senator Adam Schiff has called for a formal inquiry.

This made Schiff the first senator to openly call for a congressional investigation into potential insider trading by the Trump administration.

Schiff said: “These constant gyrations in policy provide dangerous opportunities for insider trading.

He told Time: "Family meme coins and all the rest of it are not beyond insider trading or enriching themselves. I hope to find out soon."

Separately, Schiff wrote in a Bluesky post on Wednesday: “Who in the administration knew about Trump’s latest tariff flip flop ahead of time?”

He also asked: “Did anyone buy or sell stocks, and profit at the public’s expense? I’m writing to the White House—the public has a right to know.”

Trump had for days before imposing the tariffs claimed that he would not budge, but promptly reversed course in just 14 hours after they went live.

Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, also a Democratic, joined Schiff in signing a letter sent to the White House on Thursday morning.

“This sequence of events raises grave legal and ethics concerns,” read the letter, which was shared with Time.

The letter was "to request an urgent inquiry into whether President Trump, his family, or other members of the administration engaged in insider trading or other illegal financial transactions” with advanced knowledge of non-public information about the tariff policy change.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, also called for an investigation.

She asked on the floor of Congress if this was "corruption in plain sight" as it appeared that Trump had manipulated the stock market to benefit his Wall Street donors after his well-timed social media post to "buy" prior to an announcement on tariffs.

“I'm calling for an investigation into whether President Trump manipulated the market to benefit his Wall Street donors—all while working people and small businesses paid the price,” she wrote in a post on X.

“Did Trump help insiders cash in on his tariff flip-flopping? It sure looks like corruption,” the senior senator added.

Securities and Exchange Commission declined to comment

According to the New York Times, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which reviews possible violations of federal securities laws, declined to respond to questions about Trump’s post.

Top photo via White House & Donald Trump Instagram